In case you haven’t noticed, Ian Woods has abandoned his attempt at a solo crossing of America via his souped-up and high-tech trike. I’m disappointed but not surprised, and I think Ian probably feels the same way.
Such an outcome is the unfortunate probability when big dreams collide with the laws of physics and physiology, said laws being pliable but unbreakable. It’s possible to compute the power necessary to drive an 80 pound trike and trailer down the road, and the physical capabilities of a given human being are likewise measurable. If the rider’s sustainable wattage and VO2 max aren’t sufficient, there’s no amount of wishing that will balance that equation.
The drive and determination of the human spirit is a wild card, an unknowable variable in the calculus of achievement. People have done remarkable things in defiance of logic and predictive science.
Perhaps Ian was counting on that spirit to compensate for the preparation he wasn’t able to acquire. lf so, I commend him, for the only undertaking that can properly be called an adventure is the one for which the certainty of success is less than 100%.
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That’s a very nice articulation of not only Ian’s circumstances (which I have been following, by the way) but also those of humans everywhere. 🙂
I give him high marks for going for it in the first place. I’d have talked myself out of the notion long before I ever embarked upon the journey.